Sermon Study Guide | Series: I Am | Sermon: With You in the Desert | Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15 | Date: February 22, 2026

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We developed a daily devotional reading plan for this series on YouVersion

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If you’d like to dig deeper take a look at our Series Resource Page

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CONNECT - “A Personal Reflection”

This section is designed to help you relate personally to the theme of the sermon. It encourages you to reflect on your own life experiences and how they connect to the message.

In the Bay Area, it’s easy to live in “arrival mode”believing that life will finally make sense when we reach the next milestone.

Moses knew what that felt like. He had once lived in a palace with a promising future, and now he was an 80-year-old shepherd in the desert, assuming his best days were behind him. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar; a season that felt like delay, detour, or even disqualification.

As you begin the conversation, reflect on this: Where in your life does it feel like you’re stuck in the “waiting room” instead of the life you hoped for? What would it look like to believe that God is present in that place, not waiting at the finish line, but standing with you in the desert?
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ENGAGE - “Exploring the Scripture”

This section invites you to dive into the biblical passage, discuss its meaning, and apply it to your life through thoughtful questions.

Read Exodus 3:1–15 together and discuss:

• Moses had an ordinary workday when he noticed the burning bush. Share about a time you noticed something out of the ordinary. 
  
  • What does it look like in your life to “turn aside” long enough to notice God’s presence?
    
    
• Verse 5 says, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” What might “sandals” represent in your life—layers of protection, identity, pride, or distraction that keep you insulated from God?
  
  
• God says, “I have seen… I have heard… I know… I have come down…” What does this reveal about God’s heart toward suffering and delay?
  
  
• When Moses asks, “Who am I?” God responds, “I will be with you.” Why do you think God answers Moses’ question in this way?
  
  
• God reveals His name as “I AM WHO I AM.” How does anchoring your identity in who God is change the way you interpret your desert season?
  
  
• The desert tried to rename Moses—from prince to fugitive to forgotten shepherd. What names has your desert tried to give you? How does God calling Moses by name reshape or redeem your own story?

APPLY - “Putting the Scriptures into Action”

This section challenges us to take what we’ve learned and implement it in practical ways in our daily lives.

• Identify one area of your life that feels like a desert right now. What would it look like this week to intentionally invite God into that space rather than trying to escape it?
  
  
• Build margin to “turn aside.” What is one practical change you can make (reducing hurry, turning off noise, setting aside time) to notice God more intentionally?
  
  
• If your qualifications are found in God’s presence rather than your performance, how might that reshape a current fear, insecurity, or calling?
  
  
• Who around you may be walking through a desert season? How can you be a reminder of God’s nearness to them this week?

PRAY - “Seeking God’s Guidance”

This section offers a short prayer to help us center our hearts and invite God to work in our lives through his scripture.

God, you are the great I AM—the One who sees, hears, knows, and comes down. In the places where we feel delayed, disqualified, or forgotten, remind us that you are not waiting at the finish line but standing with us in the desert.

Help us to turn aside from hurry and distraction to notice your holy presence right where we are. Remove the false names our deserts have given us and anchor our identity in who you are.

Teach us that our destination is not a circumstance but Your nearness. Give us courage to trust you in this season and to become reminders of your presence for others. In Jesus’ name, amen.